A Bold Promise to the Nation
CDC is a unique agency with a unique mission: We work 24/7 to protect the safety, health, and security of America from threats here and around the world.
CDC is the Nation’s leading science-based, data-driven, service organization that protects the public’s health. For more than 70 years, we’ve put science into action to help children stay healthy so they can grow and learn, to help families, businesses and communities fight disease and stay strong, and to protect the public’s health.
Our Strategic Framework and Priorities are a bold promise to the Nation (and the world). We will use our scientific expertise to bring a new level of preparedness in the US and global health security against current and growing threats, finally eliminate certain diseases, and bring an end to the devastation of epidemics. CDC has a broad mandate and specific directives from Congress for our work, and these priorities do not include all of CDC’s complex, important work. Learn more below.
Pandemic or other outbreak health threats are ever-present. CDC works 24/7 to help contain diseases wherever they are.
We protect communities from communicable diseases, help reduce chronic diseases, and discover new or mutated germs while fighting drug-resistant bugs.
We commit to addressing epidemics that rob Americans of a full life, such as the opioid crisis, deaths from influenza, antimicrobial resistance and diabetes.
We have identified five core capabilities that are fundamental to meeting our agency’s priorities:
- Develop and deploy world-class data and analytics for more targeted, quicker outbreak responses. We must not be historical, or even real-time. We must be predictive.
- As the reference lab to the world, we must maintain state-of-the-art laboratory capacity. Our science is shared around the world to solve real-world public health problems.
- Uphold an elite public health workforce to stay on the cutting edge. CDC’s scientists and health experts are trusted, world leaders in diseases and one of our greatest assets.”
- Quickly responding to outbreaks at their source, in the U.S. and abroad.
- Building on the current foundation of a strong global health capacity and domestic preparedness.